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weirdestcountryhumans · 2 months ago

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North Korea and the Countryhumans Fandom: What We Get Wrong and Other Common Fandom Tropes That Make No Sense (To Me)

This is the spiritual sequel to this East Germany post. Disclaimer, asI feel I need to say this, knowing I am probably going to get comments on it.

This is not a post made in support of the North Korean government. I recognize and know that it is a dictatorship with a history of human rights abuses. This is a post criticizing a portrayal of North Korea as being nothing more than a terrible government.

North Koreans are people too, and condemning them all as evil due to a bad government is a shitty thing to do.

The first thing is the NK is evil and a terrible person, which has so many things wrong with it that I'm just going to break it down into smaller parts.

Nuke Obsession:

Pointed out to be by @geisterland, why does everyone make him the one obsessed with nukes? NK was not part of the nuclear arms race, and, if anything, like Geist pointed out, America and Russia/USSR be the ones obsessed with nukes because they were the ones who were a part of the nuclear arms race and also have so fucking many.

Anger Issues:

This is a matter of portrayal rather than a flaw in this character trait. It is not a bad thing to give North Korea anger issues, but it is a bad thing to portray the things he is angry about as unreasonable.

For example, painting North Korea as being angry over the Korean War and having that being a bad thing is a poor portrayal. Like it or not, North Korea has every right to be angry about a war, as many war crimes were committed against North Korea, like bombs, as well as torture of North Korean and Chinese prisoners.

While the North Koreans did start the war, Kim Il Sung told members of the communist party that South Korea had attacked first. That, although a lie, combined with the war crimes, gives North Korea every right to be upset. I am not saying that North Korea is innocent of war crimes in the Korean War; I am just saying that North Korea is well within its rights to be mad about this. This isn't something that North Korea would be unreasonably mad about, and his people did not "deserve" it.

Brainwashed by Government/No Free Will/Secretly Hates the NK Government:

Grouping these all together because I feel that they all have similar vibes.

First off is brainwashed by the government/no free will. As @geisterland pointed out, "Knowing how people treat real-life N. Koreans as just actors hired by the government to trick the foreigners, it just feels especially dehumanizing with him" (quoted directly cause they put it so well). It is very dehumanizing to portray him as being nothing but his government's beliefs. While yes, North Korea is a dictatorship, that does not mean that North Korea is incapable of his own thoughts (well, it depends on headcanons around dictatorships, I guess, but that is beside the point).

The point is that North Korea is going to have thoughts and opinions of his own and, like some countryhumans, may play an active role in the government. While it is not wrong to acknowledge that the North Korean government does create propaganda and does lie to it's people (although what country doesn't), North Korea is not that. Let the man have fucking hobbies. Make North Korea a person, not a caricature of what you think the country is.

This also ties into "secretly hates the North Korean government." It is a very Western view, the idea that North Korea has to hate his government because it is "evil" and he needs to be saved. North Korea is the country. He can probably be a little vocal about things he dislikes. I'm not saying make North Korea obey the government completely, see last point, but that North Korea is going to have mixed views on things, complicated feelings on others. He can like certain things about his government and dislike others. He is a person. Even people who adore their governments can find something they dislike.

Again, this is something I know is hard for a lot of people, myself included, to write because everything about it seems to intensely political. But here's a great tip.

You aren't writing politics. You're writing a person.

If you are unsure of how he might see things, check out North Korean newspapers. If you are unsure about how he might feel on something, and you don't feel that the sources you can find are trustworthy, maybe don't write that, or maybe his feelings are complicated on that.

But you can't overgeneralize things. North Korea is going to be as complex as any person. Maybe his government does lie to him, maybe his government tells him everything. Maybe he supports something because he wants to, or maybe he's doing it because he sees it as the best option. His relationship with his government can be complex and confusing.

He's a person. Not a robot. Not his government.

Make him a person.

Poorly Written English to show he is Asian:

Comes off as racist.

Hermit Kingdom Stereotypes

North Korea isn't liked by much of the Western World. He has been sanctioned by many, many countries. Part of these stereotypes come from the struggles that North Korea has as a country. I'm not saying North Korea cannot be an introvert. I'm just saying if you are going to make this a basis of her personality, you can maybe do at least a quick Google search to learn why this is.

North Korea knows nothing of the outside world

UN Member, and therefore, a member of subsequent UN bodies. A member of the World Federation of Trade Unions, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Group of 77, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Asia-African Legal Consultative Organization, International Hydrographic Organization and many, many more.

Does NK just never go to any of these political meetings? Is he locked in his capital 24/7?

He has to know something about the outside world. Even if he doesn't like leaving his country, there are so many organizations that he is a part of that I find it hard to believe he has never left it once.

Conclusion

I know people can get iffy when it comes to writing countries with dictatorships. I know it can be hard to balance what is the government, what is the people, what is the propaganda, how can I e sure I am doing it right?

But it is better to try and fail than not try at all.

You don't have to like the North Korean government. But the people of North Korea deserve to have a better portrayal of their country. They deserve to be seen more as just an evil dictatorship.

For the love of God, make North Korea a person.

#countryhumans #countryhumans north korea #countryhumans fandom rants

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weirdestbooks · 2 months ago

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Secrecy and Deception Chapter 15

The Two Koreas (Wattpad | Ao3)

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Event: Korean War Begins

Location: Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Date: June 25, 1950

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea knew that the unification of his country with the country to the south would happen eventually. Both sides wanted reunification, so it only made sense that it would come eventually.

But with two countries and two countrypeople, it made sense that reunification was going to get…complicated, to say the least. Korea didn’t think it was going to be easy, especially because his country father, the Soviet Union, was concerned that the southern countryperson was under America’s control.

That wasn’t Korea’s primary concern. The southern countryperson, being America’s country child, was no different from the Soviet Union being his country father. The problem with the southern countryperson lay in the fact that his half-sister was the new Japan.

It would be an insult to the Korean people and all they had suffered for their new, united countryperson to be related to the daughter of the monster that had tried to wipe them out.

Korea was sure the southern one understood that and would be willing to give him the right to be the unified government.

At least, he was until he heard the news about what was happening at the 38th parallel.

“South Chosen did what?” Korea exclaimed, shock flooding through him as he stared at the messenger that had just brought him news from his human father, Kim Il Sung.

“Their forces attacked Haeju,” the messenger said, panic in his eyes, “We have counter-attacked in response to this, but…”

Korea nodded as the messenger trailed off, clearly at a loss as to what to say.

“Thank you for telling me this. You can go now,” Korea said. The messenger nodded and left the room. As soon as he did, Korea let the fear he felt show on his face.

He knew…he knew his human father had been preparing for the eventuality of war; it would have been foolish not to, with the rising tensions in the world, especially between the Soviet Union and the United States.

But Korea had been clinging to the hope that reunifying his land and people would have been a peaceful occasion, with a lovely ceremony where he could talk to his southern half, his brother through their country mother, the Korea that outlived her captor. He had hope that, even though one of them was fated to die, they could find a nice place to sit together, and whichever one was fated to die would do it peacefully.

He…he didn’t want this.

He didn’t want war. But war came anyway. So soon after their freedom, after their births. So soon after they were created, they had to fight—not even against their oppressors but against each other.

Korea didn’t want this.

But he would have to fight for his people, for everything they had done for him, and to honor the promise he made to protect and look after them until his time was up.

Korea didn’t know where things would go from here. Would he lose and die? Would the Southern one lose and die? Would this end in reunification?

Who knew?

Korea wasn’t a violent man. He hated the idea of raising arms against anyone, let alone his brother. He…he cared about his brother. I guess he thought his brother cared about him.

Maybe his brother thought he was better because he actually got to meet their mother. Did he think that made him superior, made him more qualified to be the country for their people? The fact that he got to meet their mom!

Faintly, Korea realized he was crying.

He was quick to wipe the tears away. Now was not the time to show weakness. He needed to be strong, for his people, for his family.

Who knows what his brother is thinking? Did he want this? Was he involved? Or was he kept in the dark?

Korea didn’t know.

He was starting to realize he didn’t know a lot about the world.

To be fair to himself, he was only a year old and had a few more months until he turned two. Maybe…maybe this was how things were. Maybe this is why the Soviet Union always seemed so sure that war would come.

Maybe he was just foolish to hope that there would be peace, or maybe he was just a child who didn’t understand the world.

Korea hoped that those assumptions were wrong. He wanted to believe that he could contribute to a better world.

He just hoped the world was willing to give him that.

• ───────────────── •

Event: Red Scare

Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America

Date: July 20, 1950

America had more trouble sleeping than he usually did these days. Worry, concern, and paranoia ate away at him when he was left to his own thoughts, and once again, America turned to alcohol in an attempt to drown out the loudness of his thoughts.

It didn’t help. Not really. But America drank anyway because being without it was worse than any of the side effects it came with.

James tried to stop him. He destroyed the booze America had saved (although he hid the more expensive stuff. The man might be a pain, but at least he was decent) and tried to take control whenever America started getting far in his cups. America still got around him. He drank at bars, bought cheap bottles, downed them quickly, and did his best to force his brother away.

It was the only thing that made him feel in control.

Senator McCarthy’s accusations hadn’t left his head either.

America wanted to trust his children. He really did, but…he had thought a lot about things that had happened between them, how the South kept the Confederacy’s continued existence a secret from him, how they never planned to reveal it to him. Who knew what else they were hiding from him?

It wasn’t the only worry he had. North Korea had attacked South Korea, and the two were at war. America was involved because the USSR and the Red China were supporting it, and it was guaranteed to turn into a bloody mess.

Senator McCarthy was right in that America needed to keep a close eye on who he trusted, especially those who had burned him before.

“You’re right. We need to keep a close eye on Canada,” Rebecca snarked. America ignored her, both because he was in public, heading towards Senator McCarthy’s office and because he did not want to engage with her taunts.

She and James were humans. They didn’t understand how countries worked, so of course, they would judge him for being cautious.

“America, I’ve lived in your head for my entire life. I know you. And I know this isn’t cation, but paranoia. That man is only making it worse. You need…America, you’re making your paranoia worse by doing this.” James said. America scowled, biting his tongue to keep him from responding.

“Hello, Senator McCarthy. Good to see you again,” America said. A small part of him knew James was right, that going to these meetings wasn’t something he needed to do, but he still did anyway.

America didn’t know what was wrong with him.

“It's good to see you, too. I didn’t know if you could make it, considering what is happening in Korea right now,” Senator McCarthy said. America shrugged.

“It’s complicated. I want to be there, but politics are politics,” he answered. Between the UN and the risk of another war in Europe, if they provoked the Soviets too much, America was sitting this war out.

That wouldn’t stop his states from getting involved, but at least he was out of it.

“Yes, and with the ongoing war, I have some concerns about Hawaii,” Senator McCarthy said. America raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was now.

“They always have concerns about Hawaiʻi. You’d think they were her parents,” Caleb said, and America could practically hear the man’s eye roll.

“Hawaiʻi is not going to run away to war,” America sighed, figuring that was the senator’s concern.

“Not yet,” Caleb chimed in unhelpfully.

“That’s not my concern,” Senator McCarthy said. America shot him a confused look.

“Then what is?”

“Have you ever considered that Hawaiʻi could be a spy for the communists in Asia?” Senator McCarthy asked. America blinked, not expecting to come out of his mouth. “I mean, surely you knew this. After all, you knew during the Second World War that she couldn’t be trusted and put her under ma—”

“That martial law was declared unconstitutional, and I never agreed to it!” America said, quickly rising out of his chair. Sure, he and Hawaiʻi had their fair share of issues, but he would never do that to her, never authorize stripping her will from her.

“Didn’t stop you from using it, though,” James said. America’s scowl deepened. Barely! He just got her to stay out of it, to prevent her from hurting herself in a revenge scheme that would fail.

To keep him from losing her too.

He had lost enough people to that empire. He wouldn’t lose anymore, not if he could help it. It was for her protection; surely even Hawaiʻi understood that. She looked too much like the enemy; she…she was better off on her islands.

It wasn’t that bad.

America knew that was a lie. But what else could he say?

“You can tell this senator that he’s a good-for-nothing son of a bitch who needs to—”

“Oh, Caleb. We get it. Calm down,” Rebecca said, smoothly cutting off the man’s angry rant.

“Ah, I apologize. I thought you were a part of that process,” Senator McCarthy said. America bristled.

“I’m not.”

Unless it was extreme circumstances, there was no way he was forcing someone through that. It was…

“It’s not a fun thing to be under,” James murmured. America almost nodded but caught himself just in time to prevent it from happening.

“But, still, she’s very Asiatic in character, and she’s not a state yet, so can you really be sure of her loyalty? The Philippines got his independence. What if she has been manipulated into thinking that the communist Asians will give her independence if she works for them?” Senator McCarthy proposed.

“Hawaiʻi’s been with us when we’ve been vulnerable before, like when we were in that hospital of hers, on so much morphine it was hard to think. You really think, if she wanted to hurt you, she would have left us alone then?” Caleb said, voice resolute in defense of his friend.

“Caleb makes a good point. I don’t think…Hawaiʻi cares about American Samoa, and she knows hurting us will hurt him. I don’t…I don’t think it’s in her nature.” Rebecca added. America bit his lip. While Rebecca and Caleb both made good points, Rebecca neglected to mention why Hawaiʻi cared so deeply for American Samoa.

Because he looked so much like Hawaiian-Samoan Confederation. Sure, Hawaiian-Samoan Confederation and American Samoa were only half-siblings through Ancient Samoa, but they shared many similar features.

Hawaiʻi loved American Samoa because he looked like her dead child.

A child America had killed.

He didn’t mean to, and it would always sit up there in his list of regrets, the blood that strained his hands (like New England Confederation and New Sweden and, oh god, what had he done). He knew he would never be forgiven for those sins.

If Hawaiʻi really was spying for communist nations in order to get her independence…America couldn’t really blame her. He had…he had cost her a lot in an effort to make things better for her. Hawaiʻi had good reasons to be mad.

“She does. And she also deserves her freedom,” Caleb said.

“I will trust her. She deserves it, after all she has gone through due to the Second World War and martial law,” America said. The fate of her child would remain a personal regret.

“Are you sure? You could just have her followed; make sure she’s truly American, and once we are sure she can become a state, you’ll have an easier time with her loyalty.”

“Maverick, if you even think about it, I swear I will destroy your good booze!” James snapped almost immediately.

“Hawaiʻi doesn’t deserve that after all the propaganda bullshit and what martial law did to her, and you know it!” Caleb added.

“And she’ll never trust you if you don’t trust her,” Rebecca added, “Trust me. I know.”

“I don’t want to control her like that,” America said. Senator McCarthy frowned some.

“Well, if you are sure. But if you ask me, using her statehood to ensure loyalty isn’t a form of coercion. It’s more akin to family loyalty and ensuring she’s happy and safe, not being manipulated by the Commies in her state. But the decision is entirely up to you. I just wanted to give a suggestion.” Senator McCarthy said. America looked away, biting his lip as he thought it over.

He…he couldn’t. But something told him that Senator McCarthy was going to press the issue until he answered.

"I'll...think about it and get back to you,” he eventually said before turning to leave, pulse racing.

For some reason, he felt panicked and lightheaded, although that could just be because of how close James and Caleb were. He needed…he needed a drink.

Preferably a strong one.

• ───────────────── •

Event: Red Scare

Location: Salt Lake City, State of Utah, United States of America

Date: November 18, 1950

Utah was used to being deaf. He knew many of his siblings expressed sorrow for him and thought that his deafness had ruined his life. Utah thought it was a bit of an overreaction. While he missed some things, like music, hearing church sermons, and listening to the sounds of his family, being deaf had not changed that many things for him.

He could still do much of what he had done before, even if he now spoke a language very few people seemed to know.

But that was what Paul was for. Paul was his translator, translating Utah’s signed speech into spoken word and then spoken word into sign for Utah, making his life much easier.

Paul had also become a friend, a requirement Utah had decided on when the idea of an ASL translator for him first came about. Utah didn’t want to be taken advantage of, to have things mistranslated to further someone else’s agenda, to be tricked and deceived because he was the poor little deaf LDS state. So, if the translator was a friend or someone Utah trusted, he could rest safe in the knowledge that things were being translated correctly.

Paul was also eager to keep Utah updated with any radio reports he heard about Utah since Utah could not hear the reports himself.

This meant that Utah was prone to visits from his friend at odd hours of the day. The hardest thing about being deaf to Utah was being unable to hear when someone was at his door. Luckily, his dog, a German Shepherd named Albert, always got stirred into a tizzy by someone at the door, which clued Utah in on the fact that someone was there.

He really needed to figure out a better system for that.

Utah had gotten Albert under control and put the dog in his bedroom before answering the door, smiling as he saw Paul standing there. However, the smile faded as he saw the worry on Paul’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Utah signed, not liking that expression. It never meant anything good had happened. Paul raised his hands and quickly began to sign.

“McCarthy went onto a radio station and accused you of being communist,” Paul explained. Utah blinked before opening the door wider, inviting Paul in.

“Explain everything you know,” Utah signed, the useless bee wings on his back buzzing with his nerves.

“McCarthy went on a radio station to say you are a communist and that you shouldn’t be trusted as a personification until an investigation is done into your life to prove you can be trusted,” Paul signed. Utah scowled.

“I can’t hear, and they think I am spying for our enemies? That is dumb. I would make a bad spy,” Utah said before groaning as a realization hit him.

McCarthy didn’t care that Utah was deaf. He was attacking Utah because he was LDS.

“I am not sure how many people will believe him, Utah, but it might be hard to shake the allegations,” Paul said. Utah sighed.

“Don’t translate anything anyone asks me about being communist. We’ll just use my deafness to my advantage,” Utah signed, shooting Paul a cheeky smile.

Paul grinned.

“I’m okay with that.”

• ───────────────── •

Event: Red Scare

Location: America’s Home, The Land In-Between

Date: December 19, 1950

Some days, it was hard to hold his head up. Tiredness fogged his brain, making it hard to think and making his limbs heavy and immovable.

The others were getting upset with that, trying to convince him to sleep, to not focus on the accusations of communists, to the parasites that could be living within him, and instead focus on taking care of himself.

Didn’t they get it? Didn’t they get that this was how America was taking care of himself? He was the country—their body was the body of a countryhuman. If his government were full of traitors and spies, their body would suffer. This was the best way to take care of himself.

“Dad?”

It took America a few seconds to process the voice from behind him, but as soon as his brain registered the voice behind him, he jumped slightly before turning around to see his son, South Carolina, standing there.

His expression looked concerned, his shaggy hair covering part of his face as he stood in the doorway. He was staring at America, and dimly, America realized he hadn’t responded.

“Go to bed.” Someone murmured. America shook his head, doing his best to give his son a grin.

“Hey…Southie,” he said, words slurring together through his heavy tongue.

“Dad, when was the last time you slept?” South Carolina asked. America couldn’t remember, but that wasn’t important. He didn't need to sleep when he had the threat of parasites tearing him apart to worry about. Faintly, he could hear James’ voice, but his foggy brain was unable to make sense of what he was saying.

“I’m fine. I have to handle this stuff.” America said, rubbing one of his eyes, forcing down a yawn.

“Dad—” South Carolina tried to argue, but America cut him off, feeling his anger grow, feeling him reach a breaking point. He was so tired of everyone telling him what to do, telling him how he should feel about the communists in his country! He was so exhausted from it all.

Why couldn't he just be left to himself?

“I’m fine! Leave me alone! Or are you working against me, too? Do you want to hurt me again?” America said as he stood up, ignoring how his body swayed slightly and how black dots appeared on the edges of his vision.

South Carolina reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Dad, please," he said. As the black dots multiplied, his lightheadedness grew. His body grew heavy, and he felt his eyes slide close before his body pitched forward, and everything faded away.

• ───────────────── •

America heard voices speaking in low murmurs. His body was heavy, and his mind was full of a pleasant fogginess. He didn’t want to move; he wanted to sink back into the foggy blackness. The voices were a soothing lullaby, slowly sending him back to sleep.

America felt a hand be placed on his cheek and leaned into the touch. It was cool to the touch and worked with the fog in his brain to steal away his senses.

It was too much effort to try and drag himself out of the fog, pull himself back to awareness, and figure out who the murmurs were.

America was so tired. Sleep began tugging him down again, and America let it, the murmurs fading back into the fog as his limited awareness faded.

• ───────────────── •

Awareness tugged at Caleb slowly. He wanted to open his eyes, but the warm darkness kept trying to pull him back down, and it was so tempting to follow.

What had happened?

Caleb tried to piece his memories together, fuzzy sounds and warm, protective presence flashing through his mind before realization suddenly flooded his body.

America had passed out. That idiot and his refusal to sleep and finally caused their body to reach its breaking point. Just like they warned him it would.

Caleb groaned and tried to open his eyes again, finding it hard but not impossible. The light was painful against his head and just intensified the feelings of exhaustion.

Caleb looked around, seeing he was in their bedroom, tucked under the covers with America’s glasses and a cup on the table. Caleb grabbed and put the glasses on, clearing up his blurry vision. He then began to sit up in the bed, rubbing at his forehead before yawning.

“Anyone else here?” Caleb asked. His head felt strangely quiet.

“Cabe? That you?” he heard Warwick’s familiar voice ask.

“It’s me. America…his lack of sleep finally got to us,” Caleb said before the door opened, revealing Massachusetts, whose eyes widened upon seeing Caleb.

“Father! You’re awake!” the commonwealth said with a smile, rushing over.

“It’s Caleb. How long have we been asleep?” Caleb asked, waving off Massachusetts’ apology. He knew that Massachusetts hadn’t meant it.

“About a day…Cabe, Father’s in a bad spot right now, isn’t he?” Massachusetts asked, his voice going gentle. Caleb nodded.

“He is. All this communists in the government stuff is getting in his head. He’s…he’s real paranoid. Convinced even some of you may be out to get him.” Caleb said, deciding not to name names there. Better that some of the states don’t know how far into his paranoia America has fallen.

Massachusetts frowned, worry in his eyes.

“We got to get him to snap out of it. Caleb…how do we do that?” he asked. Caleb shrugged, feeling uneasy. This wasn’t his area of expertise.

Something told him America wasn’t going to relax until he felt safe and in control.

#countryhumans #statehumans #countryhumans america #historical countryhumans #secrecy and deception by weird #countryhumans north korea

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